Dot’s Place
11385 Orchid Ln., 255-7288Monday-Friday, 11am-2pm; Friday, 6-8:30pm
We’ve always been big fans of the divinely crispy whole fried catfish on the bountiful lunchtime menu at this far North Austin down-home cafeteria, but we’re sometimes distracted by other items. That’s not a problem on Friday nights, however. On Fridays, Dot’s opens for a $9, all-you-can-eat catfish feast, complete with perfectly fried catfish, hush puppies, fries, and all the trimmings, plus an assortment of her marvelous pies and cobblers.
Mr. Catfish
1017 Springdale Rd., 927-6666Monday-Thursday, 11am-9pm; Friday, 11am-11pm; Saturday, 11am-10pm
850 E. Rundberg, 997-7878
Monday-Saturday, 11am-10pm
The Springdale Rd. location of this family-owned restaurant proved to be so successful, they expanded to include a new outlet a couple of blocks east of I-35 in 2001. We stopped in one day for lunch and found the place packed with hungry neighborhood business folks, all chowing down on catfish dinners with the traditional trimmings of fries, hush puppies, and cole slaw.
Quality Seafood
5621 Airport Blvd., 454-5827Monday-Saturday, 10am-6:45pm
The small cafe in this retail seafood emporium could be one of the best-kept secrets in town. Where could the fish possibly be any fresher, except maybe the coast? The turtle soup, gumbo, and oyster po-boys are just divine, and the fried fish dinners, catfish included, are wonderful, too. Food prepared to eat-in or takeout.
Hoover’s Cooking
2002 Manor Rd., 479-5004Monday-Friday, 11am-10pm; Saturday-Sunday, 9am-10pm
6701 Burnet Rd., 453-3002
Monday-Friday, 11am-4pm; Saturday-Sunday, 8am-4pm
One of our favorite meals at this friendly home of true Southern cooking has always been the catfish plate with fries and a side of the perfectly spiced jalapeño creamed spinach. Lately, we’ve discovered the delights of the catfish po-boy, piping hot fried catfish fillets on a baguette dressed with mayonnaise, lettuce, and tangy pickles. Just delicious.
Threadgill’s
6416 N. Lamar, 451-5440301 W. Riverside, 472-9304
Monday-Saturday, 10am-10pm;
Sunday, 10am-9pm
Fried catfish dinners at Threadgill’s have been a popular menu item as long as the restaurants have been open in Austin. Several years back, a Cajun/Creole influence found its way into some of the dishes here, and since that time, we’ve also developed a fondness for the bronzed catfish. This dish features tender, sweet caftish fillets coated with a Cajun spice mixture and sautéed in butter in a very hot skillet. We like it squirted with some lime juice and a little homemade tartar sauce on the side for dipping.
Pappadeaux
6319 N. I-35, 452-9363Sunday-Thursday, 11am-10pm;
Friday-Saturday, 11am-11pm
The loud, boisterous Austin outlet of the wildly popular Houston seafood chain seems to do a booming business at all times. Catfish items here include po-boys, dinner plates, and combos with shrimp or other seafood. It’s also possible to order the fish fried, blackened, or chargrilled with a variety of side dishes, a la carte.
This article appears in May 3 • 2002.